


Demons in New York

by CherryNekow



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Developing Relationships, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, OC with a complicated past, Original Character(s), Original Female Character - Freeform, Slow beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-29 03:03:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11431821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryNekow/pseuds/CherryNekow
Summary: The Winchester brothers captured a lot of demons, so this one didn't seem any special. Except he had notes in Demonic. After an hour in Dean's hands, the demon finally talked : something big is coming, and by something big, it meant 'someone' big. Guess what, the demons are at it again, and according to the massive omens, it's happening in New York. -IN REWRITING





	1. Chapter 1 : The Linguist

 

**Hello everybody ! This isn't my first fanfiction but the first one I'm ever putting up on the internet !**

 

 

 

**English is not my first language , I am not a native speaker, so there will be some awkward phrases. I try to write several chapters in advance so I have time to proofread, but there will still be some mistakes I believe.  
**

**So this story would take place before season 7 for SPN (so before the Leviathans), and before CA:CW for the Avengers !**

**Enjoy :3 !**

**[ Disclaimer : I don't own Supernatural nor the Avengers, I only own my OCs and the storyline. ]  
**

**[This story is currently being rewritten. Please comment/PM me if you have any idea on how to improve it!!]**

 

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** D E M O N S   I N   N E W   Y O R K **

 

 

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**Chapter 1 : The Linguist**

 

The young lady left the café she was usually taking her breakfast at. She had a couple of herbs and bacon bagels in a paper bag which had the logo of the little café in downtown New York City, and two grand black coffees. She had her chastain hair up in a tight chignon. She was wearing a light grey suit with a straight skirt, and was walking with white stilettos. It was 8am, on a Monday morning, at the end of summer, the sun was still shining and she had big round black sunglasses, mounting a mouth with full lips painted in a slight red She waved at a taxi. She didn't have to wait long, and she hopped into the first yellow cab that stopped next to her.

In ten minutes she was at her office. She paid the taxi driver and left the car, entering into the big glass building. The automatic doors opened, and she arrived in the great hall. The security guards smiled at her as she took off her sunglasses unveiling two grey-blue eyes, and she smiled back. She took out her badge out of her purse, it had her photo, a bar code, and her name and position : Annabelle Andersen, Chief Administrative Officer. She passed the badge in front of a lecturer that beeped and lighted green, as usual. She waved at the front desk secretaries that were answering the telephones, and went to the central elevator. She pressed the button of the last floor, and sipped on her coffee while the doors were closing. On the last floor the doors opened and she went straight to her office, along the large corridor, a few offices before the CEO's. She pushed the door. The last-floor secretary Olivia ran behind her with a pile of folders in her arms:

"Miss Andersen ! Your 9am appointment cancelled, so I called mister Shubsky who was waiting for an opening."

"You did good, Olly. What would I do without you ?"

"This office would be a mess, your agenda would be a mess, and so would your life."

"Most probably, that's why I brought you _this_."

Annabelle offered her the second coffee and gave her the paper bag :

"I got'cha a bagel from that little café we went to the other day for brunch."

"The one you go for breakfast ? You're an angel !"

A nnabelle grinned as she sat down at her desk and started her computer.

"Yeah..."

"Lisa called back, she wants your expertise." announced Olivia.

"My expertise on what ? "

"On me, what else !" cried a voice entering the room. The two ladies looked up and saw a man in an expensive dark grey suit and red tie entering the room, a goatie on his chin and sunglasses on his nose.

"Mister Stark, we haven't seen you in a while."

Tony Stark sat down on a chair on the other side of the desk.

"You promised to visit me my dear. Is that coffee ?"

Olivia left with a smile after leaving the files and the other bagel on a corner of a desk. Tony Stark helped himself and took Annabelle's cup before taking it to its lips and drank.

"Ouh, that _is_ nice coffee, Annabelle."

"You can keep it, she smiled at him. What brings you here, first thing in the morning, mister Stark?"

"I um... I needed to change my mind."

"The very famous Tony Stark found nothing to do on a Monday morning ? Not even a tour in your Iron Man suit ?"

"I wish, Pepper has forbidden me to go down to my lab, it's cleaning week. They don't want me there. Even if I'm obviously the best to know what's up in the place."

Annabelle got up and started looking at the first file on her desk, walking around the office while taking a bite of her bagel.

"That looks good." said Tony eyeing the treat. "Where do you take your breakfast ?"

"In an old café downtown. It's called Blueberry's."

"Like the berry ? Do they do delivery ?"

"Just like the berry, and they do delivery. Now, unless you'd like to be my assistant for the day, I am afraid I'll have to ask you to leave, some of us actually have to work." she finished in a joking tone. He smiled back at her but was still siting.

"How foul of you to throw me out of your office in such a way." he dramatized.

"I would be sorry to leave you to your billionaire boredom." she laughed

"Then, deal. Do I have to call you Madam ?"

"You may, if I get to call you my PA" [ _personal assistant_ ]

"Do I get a desk ?" he asked jokingly.

"You can get a chair, and free coffee." she offered.

Tony Stark has been a friend of the CEO of this company, James McKeen, for a dozen years now, and learned to know Annabelle when she arrived as McKeen's help four years ago, and got promoted to CAO a year ago.

Tony spent the next hour fumbling in Annabelle's decoration and making comments, while she was actually working. The 9am appointment came in, Shubsky, another company owner McKeen was subcontracting for a building project. Olivia ushered him in after knocking.

"Welcome mister Shubsky !" Annabelle said while highlighting one last line in his file.

She got up and went around her desk to shake her client's hand. Mr. Shubsky was a small man with round glasses and a firm handshake. He was really glad to be here, his little business was really getting started, when Annabelle found his good results while consulting some statistics. She called, and the deal was rapidly made. He slightly bowed when shaking her hand, and that's when he saw Tony.

"Oh my god... You are..."

"Miss Andersen's personal PA for the day, Tony. Are you a tea or a coffee person ? Tea I bet."

"... You're Iron Man !"

Annabelle laughed, and sat at her desk.

"Please Mr Shubsky, sit down. Tony, if you will."

"What ?" answered the billionaire.

"This meeting is private, I'm sorry." she grinned, not wanting to hurt the man.

"Are you sure ?" he tried.

"I'm afraid I am. Mister McKeen should be back from London soon, his flight arrived at 8, he should be here in any minute."

He pointed at the door with his sassy attitude.

"You need me to do some xerox ?"

"I'll be fine, Tony, thank you very much." she cheered.

"Canadians, so polite."

And Tony Stark left. Shubsky sat at the desk and turned to her :

"Tony Stark really is your PA ?"

"No, he was just in the neighbourhood, I kind of sheltered him ! What about we go over the next details ?"

"Sure !"

The meeting went on for three hours, and after signing one last paper, they shook hands and he left. Olly informed her that Tony had left the building he few moments after she had received her client.

"Why was he here in the first place ?" asked Olivia

"I don't really know." answered Annabelle. "I thought he would just leave when he learned that McKeen wasn't in here."

"Yeah, right ?"

They both took their jackets and handbags and locked their offices before taking the elevator. Every midday they would leave the office to grab lunch nearby. They would be gone for an hour or two sometimes, when they could not stop chatting. They were both from Canada, and became friends quickly. When they were done, they headed back to the big glass building. They were crossing the road, when two electricians, one who was particularly huge, maybe two meters tall, walked into them.

"Oh, I'm sorry." said the taller one.

He had shoulder-length hair and fair eyes. Annabelle barely had time to turn around to clearly see his face that the second electrician had taken his sleeve and pulled him away.

"People _can_ be really rude sometimes." cried Olivia.

The two women walked five more minutes, and heard the alarm from across the street. They walked faster, nearly ran into the hall. Security guards were searching everywhere, the alarm was crying high, and all the staff had been brought downstairs. Even McKeen was down here, yelling on the phone.

"I don't fucking care ! You're getting your agents in here, right now !"

Olivia and Annabelle came closer to the front desk girls :

"What happened ?!" Annabelle asked as she was covering her ears because of the alarm.

"Someone broke into the system, and set off the alarm ! He tried to have access to your files, miss Andersen !"

The alarm finally stopped, and the whole hall sighed in relief. Annabelle grinned :

"My files ? What for ?"

James McKeen approached the three women. "Anna, what the hell ?!"

"James, I don't know, did he only go through _my_ files ?"

"Yes apparently he did !"

"But we have high security systems, to go through you need more than a simple password ! Are you thinking about industrial spying ? I mean... oh no."

"What ?!" cried James.

"On my computer, I have plans of the museum, the one where there's gonna be a charity fundraiser, and a lot of important people at this gala, he may have tried to have access to the plans for an attack !"

J ames squatted and breathed in slowly.

"Thank god he didn't manage to get in... Call the IT guys, I want a thousand per cent more security in there or I'll promise I'll fire every one of them !"

He rapidly stood up, and was going to storm off back to his office when one of the security guards walked toward them.

"Hmm... boss, there are two FBI agents here."

He seemed rather surprised.

"What ? Already ? I... I just called Henry... Well, I guess they were just around the block."

T wo men in black suits came up to Annabelle, Olivia, and James. The first one a bit more than 1''80, he had a really square jaw on which grew a slight beard. His short brown hair matched perfectly his green eyes and his charming smile. The second one was taller, almost two meters, he was huge in his suit and tie. His hair was down to his shoulders, however, contrary to the other FBI agent he was clean shaven, and his eyes were of a deep grey-blue.

They both took out their badges :

"Agents Tyler and Perry, FBI."

James held out his hands to agent Tyler, the green-eyed one, who shook it in return.

"You've been sent by the bureau ? We didn't expect you so soon."

"Uh... yeah. We were having lunch nearby, we received the call, and we heard the alarm. So... what happened ?"

James invited Annabelle to step in the conversation.

"Agents Tyler and Perry, this is my CAO Annabelle Andersen. The thief was only going through her file. Her office was fractured..."

"Wait," cut Annabelle, "He forced my door ?"

Agent Perry took out a noting pad and a pen.

"So... could we check the premises ?"

"Yeah, sure," answered James, "Please follow me. Anna, please come."

They all took the central elevator straight to the last floor.

"So... Mrs... Andersen, right ?" asked Agent Perry.

" _Miss_ , please."

"Yes, Miss, sorry. Do you have any idea why someone would break into _your_ particular office ?"

"I have no idea. There are plans, and contracts, in my office. Worth for industrial spying or organizing an attack."

The doors opened, and they all went to her office. The door had been left ajar. They entered the room. The drawers were open, the computer was on, the pile of folders was all on the floor.

"Do you have anything... personal in your office ? Something else that does not concern your job?" asked the taller one.

Annabelle turned to him and frowned.

"What do you mean ?"

"You know... Some, personal stuff, like, a journal, some personal notes, that someone would want to steal from you ?"

She smiled, she didn't really understand.

"What ?"

Agent Tyler gently pushed him with his elbow.

"Uhm... So, did you see anything that disappeared ?"

Anna sat at her desk. She looked in her left upper drawer, nothing had changed. She taped at the bottom of one of them, and smiled with relief.

"No, I have everything." she declared.

Agent Perry went closer to her desk :

"So... nothing you wouldn't like to see between the wrong hands has been stolen from here, everything is at its place ?"

Annabelle got up from her chair and stood, facing the three men.

"I'm sorry, but are you looking for something in particular ?"

Then, suddenly, it came back to her. She looked closely at agent Perry. She squinted her eyes because she didn't really know.

"I'm sorry agent, but do I know you ?"

The agent walked a few steps backwards with a grin: "Uhm, no, I don't think so."

He definitely looked suspicious. She got closer to him. Even with her stilettos he was thirty centimetres taller than her.

"Can I see your badge again, _sir_ ?"

Agent Tyler stepped forward.

"We just wanna be as thorough as possible ma'am, he intervened. We didn't want to interrupt, we're just doing our job."

"Well, that is very _thorough_ of you. Badge please."

Both agents took out their badges again. Anna really was not convinced. James observed the exchange with questioning eyes, not really understanding what was happening here.

"Ok, it's time for us to go," said agent Perry. "Have a good day ma'am. Sir."

James held out his hand to say goodbye, shook both their hands, and the suits left.

"They were so weird. They're not even sending a team to pack up any clues ? Who are those clowns ?" she said furiously.

"Anna, you sure you're okay ? You seem quite upset right now..."

"Of course I'm upset ! Someone broke into my office, then these two show up, one I'm sure I know from somewhere !"

James padded her on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm calling Henry at the FBI, I'll see if I can get a team looking for clues."

"No, it's okay, I don't want more people to fumble through my stuff. Nothing was stolen."

Annabelle took off her jacket, and fanned air in her direction with her hand. James was about to leave, but she interrupted him :

"James, I need my afternoon off. I'm sorry, this can't wait."

"Uhm... Okay... That doesn't really go with my plans you know but..."

"I'll make it up to you James, I promise. I'm sorry, I gotta go."

"Well... okay."

Then James left to go back to the hall. Anna closed the door behind him. She tried not to panic, but the danger was too high. She went back behind her desk and sat on her chair. She opened the upper left drawer, and took out the pens and sticky notes and put them on the desk. She pushed a little wood mechanism, and she could access the false-bottom. From there she took out an old notebook with a leather cover and a leather link to close it. She stuffed it in her purse, put everything back in the drawer, put her jacket back on, and left her office. She took the elevator back to the hall. Olivia was there, she stopped her.

"Anna, are you ok ? We saw the FBI agents leave, they were talking about weird things, what is in your office ?"

Annabelle stopped and faced her friend.

"What do you mean, _weird things_ ?"

"I don't know, about _omens_ I think."

" _Omens_ ?... Listen Olly sweetie, I gotta go. I told James already, I'm taking the afternoon off, I gotta take care of something. I'll see you tomorrow."

And Annabelle stormed off. She was in danger. Those FBI agents, they surely did _not_ look like FBI agents. Her past experiences had taught her to be extra cautious. She hailed a taxi, and jumped in the first that stopped. She gave the driver her address downtown, not far from the Blueberry's. Once the man started driving she picked up her phone, and went through her address book. She called one number.

" _Allo ? Stéphanie ? Bonjour, ça va ? Où est-ce que tu es ? Est-ce que tu... D'accord, c'est pas grave. Merci quand même..._ "

A negative answer. She called the next number.

"Hey Gary it's Annabelle, I'm leaving a message. I need your help. It's urgent. Call me back."

She called a third number.

" _Привет, это Аннабель. мне нужна помощь, быстро ! Вы знаете, если я могу взять самолет ?_ _Это срочно_ _..._ _Нет? Почему нет ? Я помогла вам несколько месяцев назад, мне нужно окупаемости, сейчас !_ "

She angrily hung up. How dare they, after all she did for them. She sighed and called one last number.

" _Allo ? Ja, es ist Annabelle. Ist Mama zu Hause ? Frieda bitte, ich brauche deine Mama. Wenn will mama zu Hause ? ... Ok... Bitte sag ihr ich brauche hilfe, schnellstmöglich. Danke schön. Aufwiedersehen, Frieda, ja, aufwiedersehen._ "

Why was everybody away, and why was everybody so indifferent to her call for help, as if she wasn't in danger enough ? The taxi parked in front of her apartment building. She took out a fifty dollar bill and left. She hurried into the small hall. The guardian smiled to her and she smiled back, unsettled. It could be everybody, anywhere... She went to the elevator with a rapid pace, and pressed the button. The machine was on the highest floor apparently, she would have to wait a bit.

"You're home soon, miss Andersen," called the guardian at the door. "Is everything all right ?"

She barely turned back, just pressed the button a couple more times.

"Yes, yes, thank you for your concern Andrew..."

"Oh, the elevator's pretty slow today, I called the mechanics they should come tomorrow."

"Okay, great..."

She dared not to look straight at him. God knows what he could be now. She was warm now, everything turned around her. She has been careless for too long. It's been a while since she had been in this kind of trouble. She thought now it would be over, that she had finally escaped them, but the alarm, and these two FBI agents... This was no good.

The elevator finally opened. Her neighbour, an old lady, Mrs Greatmourne came out of the machine.

"Hello, Annabelle, how are you doing today ?"

"Hello Tiffany, I'm doing good, what about yourself ?"

"Oh, you know, my old bones..."

"Oh yeah ? I'm sorry, I need to leave you now, have a good day..."

And Anna hurried into the elevator and pressed the button of her floor. She didn't like to be rude like this and cut short conversations. Not because she was Canadian, but because she thought politeness was the basis of civilization, and God knew she clanged to her civilized part. Andrew was right, the elevator _was_ slow today. She squeezed her purse against her, and prepared her keys. Arrived on the ninth floor, she nearly ran to her door, and unlocked the four locks, before coming in, and locking them again after her. She finally could breathe. But she knew it couldn't be for long. She had to leave and go somewhere safer. She went straight to her large bedroom, and left her jacket and purse on the king size bed. She entered the walk-in closet, and took out a suitcase, that she put on the floor and opened. She threw in there a couple of outfits, a medical kit, and a wooden box with golden symbols on it. This would never pass security at the airport, she feared. She closed the suitcase and went back to her room. She sat on the bed, and took out the leather notebook out of her purse. She carefully opened it. Every page was covered in symbols, pentacles, and small paragraphs in several languages. She closed it, and stood facing her bed. She leaned over to add the notebook to...

She felt a hard stroke on the back of her head, and everything went dark around her.

 

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**Hey everyone ! I'm glad you chose to read the entire chapter, thank you so much ! I'll leave you to the next chapters, enjoy your reading, and don't forget to follow my story if you'd like to be told when the next chapters come out !**

**See you next chapter ;) !**

 


	2. South Dakota

 

**Welcome to Chapter 2 ! Just so you know, I made a drawing of my OC Annabelle that I posted on my DA page (cherrynekow.deviantart) if you're wondering how I picture her.**

**Enjoy your reading ^^ !  
**

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**Chapter 2 : South Dakota**

 

"Is she up yet ?"

"Not last time I checked. Dude, you almost killed her."

"I did not !"

"Man, you must have hit hard, the poor girl is still asleep. We're lucky she's breathing !"

"Ok, I may have gotten a bit hard on her, but this whole thing has got me stressed."

The two voices were those of two men, and somehow she recognized them. Annabelle stayed with her eyes closed. Her head felt like it had been smashed with a rock several times, and she could hear her heartbeat echoing inside her skull. Her body was aching all over, as if she had been beaten up the day before. She was sitting, her ankles and wrists were tied to the chair she was sitting on, tightly. Unfortunately, she knew this way too much and she winced at the remembrance. However, this time, there was nothing she could do, and her life was probably going to end anytime soon. Her heart started bumping in her chest, so much it was painful. She groaned, she could feel her heart irregularly battling in her.

"Hey, she's awake !"

S he heard the two men coming closer to her, and one squatted near her. Annabelle finally opened her eyes, and saw them. The two FBI agents.

"You... she growled. You !"

Despite her irregular heart, she forced on her binds to go free, but the knots were tight.

"Sam, get back !"

"Agent... Perry, and Tyler... My ass !"

She had trouble breathing, her vision was getting blurry, she was having a panic attack. She yelled :

"Help ! _Aidez-moi ! Pomozite mi !_ _Отпусти меня !_ _"_

Agent Tyler took a step back.

"Was that... Russian ?"

"I don't know, Dean."

Agent Tyler -apparently his name was Dean-, came closer to her :

"Shut up now, you demonic bitch. You're gonna tell us exactly what you know, or we'll send you back to the pit, just like we crisped your little friend a week ago."

"What.. are you... talking... about..."

She had trouble breathing, and her heart was still pumping irregularly at a worrying rate.

"Dean, something's wrong... She's all pale, she can't properly breathe."

"No, just another trick Sam. Don't get too close."

Her heart was hurting bad. Her head was turning, and her vision started to fade away, as she began to pass out. Dean took out a bottle from his back jean pocket, opened it, and threw some of it on Annabelle, while her head dropped. She had fainted. Silence. Sam looked at Dean, with questioning eyes.

"Isn't she... supposed to smoke off and yell from the pain ?"

Dean looked at his bottle of holy water. Something didn't work.

"Did you bless it right ?"

"Sam, I did !"

"Well, she isn't a demon."

"She has to ! The one we caught last week told us it was her, that she was so evil even _we_ would be impressed. Hey, missy, wake up !"

Dean came closer, and slapped her. She had no reaction. Sam approached to, and took her pulse.

"She's in a pretty bad shape, Dean, there is someone in there we need to save ! Her heart is... it isn't regular, she needs an electrical impulse."

"Well, we don't have this here !"

"Pray for Cass, he may help us !"

"Yeah, and what could he do ?"

"Dean, he's an angel !"

"Ok, as you wish..."

D ean turn around and closed his eyes. Sam untied the binds and lied Anna, still unconscious, on the carpet of the living room. He took her head in his hands, still checking her pulse and her breathing. A slight wing creasing echoed through the house, and Castiel, angel of the Lord, appeared in his light coloured trenchcoat, next to Sam.

"You called for me."

"Castiel ! She is in arrhythmia, we don't have the equipment here to help her."

"Who is she ?"

"She is possessed by a demon who holds _very_ important information about what the demon we caught last week told us. Please, do something !"

Castiel knelt next to Annabelle and Sam, and put his hand on her forehead. Then, suddenly, Castiel fell back on the floor, his eyes filled with awe.

"Cass ? What is it ?" asked Dean.

"Where... where did you find her ?"

"In New York city, but Cass, do something !" cried Sam.

Cass crawled closer to Annabelle, and again, touched her, uttering under his breath some phrases in Enochian. Her heartbeat came back to normal, and her breathing stopped being erratic.

"Cass, you did it." whispered Sam, still a bit amazed at the angel's powers, even after all this time.

Dean stepped forward :

"Now, let's tie her back to the chair."

Cass barred him the way with his arm :

"You will do no such thing. She is from now on under my protection."

Dean laughed, but he saw Castiel's very serious face. Sam was surprised too.

"What ? Cass, this girl is a demon, and she will know how to decipher the notes we found on the other demon. After all I did to him, I can assure you he said the truth."

Annabelle had came to, and seized Sam's throat with her trembling hand, and she yelled :

"LET ME GO !"

She pushed him away and tried to escape, but Dean rushed to her and grabbed her by the shoulder. He made her turn to him, and she slapped him across the face. He grabbed her other arm and forced her to sit down.

"Dean, leave her." demanded Castiel.

"In what honour ?" he answered while tying her up again.

Castiel put his hand on Dean's shoulder and looked at him with a very serious expression

"This woman is under my protection, you two Winchesters need to understand that."

Annabelle managed to get free, and ran towards outside the house, hustling Castiel on the way.

"Wait !..." he shouted before she managed to get out.

She didn't have her stilettos anymore, she didn't really know where they went. Her spotless expensive suit was now all crumpled, and her tights were torn on several places. When she pushed the entrance door open, a disappointing sigh came out of her mouth. She was literally in the middle of nowhere. There were only fields outside of the blue countryside house she just left. She saw a small country road leaving the house. This was surely leading to some more major road. She was going to run again, but she saw a car outside, and the keys were on, an old American, black and shiny. She sprinted down the porch stairs and towards the car. She barely had the time to reach the car and grab the handle that she was held back by two strong arms.

"Oh no you're not leaving with Baby !"

That was Dean's voice, and he threw her on the ground. She grabbed a small rock in the dirt, and when he leaned onto her to grab her, she attacked back with the stone, and cut deep in his hand. He took a step back from the surprise, which gave her just enough time to cut her own hand, and roll up her skirt. Dean was going to attack her again, but he saw the tattoo on Anna's thigh, a kind of Eunochian sigil he'd never seen. She applied her hand to the tattoo and started talking in Enochian. Dean tried to reach back at her, when Castiel arrived running, and caught Anna's hand, taking it away from the tattoo. He put his thumb on her forehead, and his eyes lighted blue, as he was repeating something in Enochian. Her eyes lighted blue as well, and for a moment she stopped struggling. Sam came in on the three, and saw Dean bleeding and holding his hand tight.

"Dean, are you alright ?"

"Yeah, yeah... God, this bitch knows how to fight back, who would guess that from some office worker in heels."

Annabelle wasn't under Castiel's control, she grabbed his throat and the angel lost the power he had over her. Sam and Dean each took her arms and held her against the Impala, and Castiel could breathe again.

"Careful... Careful with her... he said as he sighed with relief."

Annabelle did not stop fighting, and tried to get free from the Winchesters, but they were way too strong for her. Dean took out a gun from the back of his belt, and put it on Annabelle's temple.

"Now, you stay put, or I'm putting a bullet through your head."

Annabelle quitted trying to free herself. She was breathing rapidly, but she was okay.

"Castiel, who the hell is she ?" asked Sam.

Castiel got closer to her. He did not try to touch her, just look her in the eyes.

"Go easy on her. She is the true vessel of one of my brothers, Pahaliah."

"Who ?" wondered Dean, looking at Castiel.

"The angel of Virtuosity, Pahaliah."

Annabelle spat on the ground at Castiel's feet.

"Yeah, this bastard..."

"Wait, she was possessed by an angel ? I thought she was possessed by a demon." said Sam.

Annabelle tried to force her way out of the guys' hold.

"Stop restraining me ! Just let me go ! I have nothing to do with you ! _"_

"My name is Castiel, and these are my friends Sam and Dean Winchester, they are..."

"Hunters ! I figured... This explains the shitty FBI badges and why you guys had me tied on a chair in a demon trap, and most important, why you're such dickheads !"

"Hey, mind your mouth !" warned Dean.

Annabelle turned her head to him, and pinned him with her angry gaze :

"And what are you gonna do, _hunter_ ? There's nothing you can do that hasn't been done to me already..."

"Why do you need her ?" asked Castiel.

"We captured a demon last week, he had a notebook with strange signs on him. Turned out he was a messenger. He finally told us that these were directions, for an upcoming invasion, however he didn't know how to decipher them, he was just a low-level messenger. He gave us the position of a demon, a powerful demon, that would know how to decipher it. Turns out this demon was in downtown New York city. Turns out also, that there have been enormous demonic omens around the area of New York in general. That's her, the demon we're looking for, and probably the one that's causing the omens too."

"That can't be her" declared Castiel. "She is not possessed."

"What ?" asked Sam. "Well, that makes sense, we threw holy water at her, and she fainted..."

"Ok, I'm not possessed, now let me go !" cried Anna.

"Cass, that demon wouldn't lie to us, after what I did to him."

"Please, let her go, I'll explain." said Castiel.

"If she promises not to be a bitch anymore" said Dean.

"You're the bitch..." muttered Annabelle under her breath.

"I heard that."

"Good, t'was meant for you.."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, then at Castiel, and finally released Annabelle. She jumped away from them. Her hand was bleeding a lot, she had cut a big vein, and there were red splatters all over her skirt. She was pale, she was probably missing almost a litre of blood already.

"Hey, I'm sorry for what my brother and I did to you," started Sam peacefully "But you're bleeding, you don't look really good right now..."

"Of course, this suit was probably worth more than everything you own..." she spat at him.

However, Sam was right, her head was turning, she was feeling light.

"I can help you, please, follow us inside the house..."

"I won't... uh..."

Annabelle fell on her knees, and Sam ran to her before her head hit the ground. He took her in his arms, and carried her inside, followed by Dean and Castiel. He lied her down on the sofa. She was coming to, slowly. Castiel took a chair and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry, I did not realize who you were. If I knew..."

"You don't really care, do you ? Your kind never care, they just _take_."

"You know that in a way, it was for your own good..."

Sam came back with a cup of water, wet towels, and compresses. He offered the glass to her, which she weakly held in her trembling hand. Dean stood facing the sofa, and started patching himself up with what Sam had brought. His brother was gently taking care of Annabelle's hand.

"So... your name is... Annabelle, right ?"

"Yes." she answered with a bit of anger still in her voice.

"Why would a demon point us to your direction ?"

Dean showed the notebook with symbols on it, the one they caught a week before, to Annabelle. She put her glass down and reached for the notebook, but Dean took it away.

" _Just. Look_."

Annabelle sighed, and gazed at the notebook for a couple of seconds, then she laughed a little.

"What is so funny about it ?"

"Ha, my dears... It means I'm deep in it..."

Sam had finished her bandages, and she got up. She snapped the notebook out of Dean's hands.

"Hey !"

"Shut up, some people are actually working." she said back at him, turning her back to him.

He grabbed her shoulder and made her look at him, but before he had time to scold her, she pushed him with her elbow.

"What's your fucking problem ?"

"Castiel, we don't know her, she might be working for the other side..."

"Dean, calm down, I'll explain..." started Castiel.

Annabelle threw the notebook in Castiel's hands, and faced Dean.

"You wanna know who I am, _Dean_ ? _Fine_. I was just some graduate in linguistics in Vancouver when I first got possessed. Someone on campus had a really good idea to have a little _seance_ , and to summon a demon. Turned out this was way over their heads. You know who they summoned ? _Adramelech_ , the very own chancellor of Hell, you know, Lucifer's best buddy. Turned out his passion besides fashion, is languages ! I was studying late that night, and he liked what I had in my head, better than the freshmen, who were still found dead after the incident. He walked around with my body for a few months, when he crossed the way of some hunters, who were chasing the thing that was creating demonic omens. That was me. Well, that was the couple of demon followers he had. He was preparing something bad, and he just left my body, for someone else in another town, where there wasn't any hunters. You know, those two, they still caught me and nearly drowned me in holy water before realizing the demon had left me. You know where I was ? I was in Atlanta, in Georgia. I had no money, no ID, _nothing_. I had to go back to Canada by myself. I had to steal a guy's wallet at the bar to buy bus tickets. I was almost at the border, when Adramelech found me again. He's very discrete, you know. He's pretty hard to track down, he creates almost no demonic omens. Then, he travelled. Well, _we_ , travelled. You know who he was ? He was a Mesopotamian god, people would sacrifice their children to him. He missed that. He went from town to town, and made people drown their kids, hang them, drive with them in the front seat, and drive straight into trees. He had a mom cook her own twins, two little boys of three, and served them to him, to _me_. He has feast on infants, babies, just born. He would go around dressed as a doctor in maternity wards, and steal two or three babies at a time. Then he would go back to his lair. He would always travel big, you know, expensive hotels, with pools, billiard, and _special_ services, such as cleaning without questions. He would leave a mess : tiny intestines, tiny hands, in the bathtub. I was awake. The whole time. He was caught by the police once. They throw me into some cell at a police station. I had my body back for a couple of hours. Just the time that he possessed some federal agent, and erased every trace of what he did : files, proofs, reports, everything, my face wasn't connected to any crimes anymore. I guess he liked my meatsuit very much and didn't wanna change. He told me he was doing me a favour. Then he went on for another year and a half. Killing babies, seeing other demons making plans to take over the world, and hurt people in the process, trapping a couple of hunters and slay them, that has been my daily life almost two years."

Sam, Dean, and Castiel stood in awe, after what Anna had told them.

"Oh my god..." murmured Sam. "I am so sorry to hear that..."

Dean had shut his mouth, and Castiel looked very sorry too. Annabelle looked at the angel. She was almost crying, her face was full of rage.

"You know what happened next ? Of course, Adramelech was drawing a lot of attention. It caught Pahaliah's attention. Oh, Pahaliah... They say angels are good, that they make miracles. They forget to say that angels are _warriors_. Adramelech could not be killed, he could only be sent back to Hell, and not without Lucifer's permission, since he was on a mission. Pahaliah had a _great_ idea. He challenged Adramelech in battle. They forget so easily that they are people inside the vessels, trapped. I felt every blow Pahaliah threw at me. I could feel the internal bleeding, and my heart on the brink on giving up. I fainted before the end of the fight. It's a weird sensation, you know. You're not awake, you cannot control your body, but it's like a dream. I was in some very vivid dream. What awoke me from that dream, is the sudden stop of all this violence. When I woke up inside myself, I still wasn't free. I was just in the passenger seat of my very own car, and a stranger driving, nothing had changed. Pahaliah had managed to take Adramelech's place when he was at his weakest. The chancellor of Hell was gone. My body was broken. Everywhere. Not a single organ was functioning, not anymore. My heart had stopped beating. Pahaliah proposed me deal. Yes, a _deal_ , just like a demon. He would heal me up entirely, I would have a brand new body, as if nothing never happened to me, if I agreed to share my knowledge of the languages and mechanisms of Hell. Of course I agreed. Little did I know, that this meant someone else using my body. Pahaliah used me..."

"Well, it wasn't... tried Castiel."

" He _used_ me," cut Annabelle. "He used my face to learn more about Adramelech's plans amongst humans, and my memories and knowledge to track down his demon friends. I saw him exorcize people. But this wasn't for the most part. No, oh no... For the most part, the host was killed to. I saw _my hands_ slit throats, gut innocents, tear limbs... You know, when you're in the passenger seat like that, you can actually feel the others hosts, battling to get hold, or even worse, you can feel when they are _dead_. You can feel when what you have in front of you is just some corpse someone is playing with. For about two years. _Two_ years... I was dead inside, if this means anything now. When Pahaliah was done with me, he thanked me for my _loyal services_. Since I was a ''good host'', he proposed me to give me some powers. Some ''magic'', in return for the _favour_ I did to him. I had knowledge of languages of Hell and Heaven, he offered to me some more knowledge, on how to actually use them, and the power to use them."

There was a moment of silence after the second part of her story. Sam stared at Castiel, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Hence the tattoo" concluded Dean to break the silence.

Annabelle grinned, and started taking off her jacket. She pulled up the bottom of her shirt. On her abdomen, one above the other were symbols : the first one, just under her bra, was an angel banishing sigil. The second one, over her belly-button was an anti-possession symbol.

" Whoa..." said Dean. "I thought we were the only ones crazy enough to get that tattooed."

Annabelle rolled up her skirt. On her left thigh, there was another tattoo.

"The horn of Gabriel..." whispered Sam. "This is to draw angels to your location."

"In case I'm in big trouble. Pahaliah is kind of VIP upstairs, and he really liked me. Just like your fluffy-wingy pet ''Castiel'' knows, I am to be protected by angels, for my _loyal services_."

O n her other thigh, another sigil, the one she tried to use earlier.

"This one, what is it," asked Dean, "We don't know it. It looks like a heavenly portal."

"This is... how can I say that, what angels use when they can't transplane with their own powers, when they are bound to somewhere for some reason."

"Transplane ?" wondered Dean.

"Yes, it means changing plans."

"Thank you, I think I got it.." he answered angrily.

" Then stop asking stupid things. Angels don't really use it on a regular basis, however, still happens. It works the same as banishing sigil. A bit of blood, and you transplane."

"That is a lot of magic, demons and angels must smell you from kilometres away." remarked Sam.

"Actually they don't. They can only feel it when I activate them."

"I thought you would want nothing to do with any... supernatural beings, after what you lived..." said Sam.

"Turns out I like the powers, and if Adramelech finds me again, I want his ass kicked by an angel again. The transplaning thing, I guess I save on the gas and the plane tickets."

Silence fell in the room. After everything Anna just declared, nothing would be reassuring. She knew that feeling, and she just took back the notebook from Castiel's hands. She read a few lines with a smile of despair, walking around the living room, and finally turned to the guys.

"You are in a massive pile of shit. These are plans. For an upcoming attack. Just..."

"What ?" asked Castiel. "Can you decipher it completely ?"

"No. And I won't. I don't want to. I heard you guys started the _Apocalypse_ ? You're the kind of guys that just attracts trouble, _aaaaand_ I've had my fair share. I can translate you the big lines I can read now, but I'm gone just after."

Sam came closer :

"No, please, if these are some kind of big plans, you have to help us. The demon told us that this would be _big_ , we will protect you, please."

Anna chuckled.

" _Protect_ me ? From what ? Lucifer's BFF ? _Too late_. From the angels' wrath ? _Too late_. I'm not getting involved here. I finally had a life without all of this nonsense. I need to get back to New York. You'll have your transcription in one hour. Give me some paper I can write on and a pen. I suppose that when you _abducted_ me you didn't take my journal and the wooden box in my suitcase, because I needed both."

"Uh... no we didn't." admitted Sam.

"That's why I really think hunters are a joke."

"Why are you hating so much on hunters ?" growled Dean.

Anna turned to him :

"Maybe because you can't realize if a person is actually possessed or not. I mentioned the two who almost drowned me, but another couple, a man and a woman, they cut my flesh, almost bled me out. I crossed the path of some others. Most of them tried to kill me. So _excuse_ me if I'm not of the most cooperative nature. "

Annabelle sat down and started reading the pages of the notebook. Castiel sat down next to her and read over her shoulder.

"Can you understand ?"

"Yes, most of it. I don't have the keys for all the symbols, I would need my journal."

Sam took a chair a sat next to them both. Dean was just looking at them with a disdaining look in his eyes.

"What can you read now ?" asked the younger Winchester.

Annabelle took the paper and pen Sam was handing out to her, and started writing.

"The first part, it's... it's mainly logistics : who is getting involved, where. I can't tell you the names without my journal, because the symbols for names are really special, and, that wouldn't help you to find them."

Castiel frowned :

"Maybe I can go get your journal for you..."

She grinned and had a little laugh :

"That would be sweet, _Castiel_ , but angels can't touch it, neither can demons. I've protected it. My whole apartment is protected against huffs and fluffs like demons and angels. I've covered the walls with sigils. It's pretty strong stuff, you wouldn't be able to go near the whole ninth floor."

"I see you used well the knowledge Pahaliah gave you." said Castiel in return, a bit impressed by the resourcefulness of the woman.

She smiled back at him. Finally, this angel wasn't so bad.

"You know, I don't think I ever heard about you, when I was possessed by Pahaliah."

"Oh, I was just a minor angel... this was before I... revolted against Heaven."

She stared at him with genuine surprise and a big smile on her face.

"You _revolted_ ? Against Heaven ? Good lord, so you are the rebellious type."

Sam smiled with them, but Dean was starteing to lose patience. Anna looked up and saw him walk around in the living room. This whole thing looked like a mascarade. Annabelle was supposed to be some more demon they would destroy, but now she was making friends with Castiel and his brother, and she was to be protected and listened to. She had attacked him, had tried to steal his Impala, and had attacked him again. She was supposed to be an angel's vessel, like he was supposed to be Michael's, and Sam Lucifer's, and what she had told from her situation as an angel's vessel wasn't really exactly good news for him or Sam.

"Now, the places are definitely in and around New York City," continued Anna. "This paragraph is pretty specific... Apparently, a vessel was found, a very _particular_ vessel, that would _crush_ everything on its way..."

She turned a few pages, Castiel and Sam carefully following what she was doing.

"It is said that once the vessel inhabited by... I can't read the name, it's... It's really like Chinese or Japanese, you know, you got those _kanjis_ , and the pronunciation depends on the context and on what follows. In generic Demonic, you have special hidden codes known only by a few that can help you decipher names and places. However, if the demon you caught pointed to New York, it must be it. And you have some words I have seen before, like ''Central Park'' and..."

She stopped, and the blood left a face for a second. She looked at the notebook with stress. She was suddenly really worried.

"What is it ?" asked Sam. "What did you read ?"

She got up to regain some countenance but she couldn't hide her concern. She flattened her skirt just to reassure herself. She tapped on her pockets, of course, she did not have her phone. She looked at Sam and Dean :

"This afternoon, my secretary, she heard you talking about _omens_ , that's why you were here, right ? You were following demonic signs."

Sam got up too, and fetched a map of New York state. He put a few of the books aside, and lied the map down on the living room table. He took the pen, and drew a few circles not far from NYC.

"Here, and here, there were temperature fluctuation for three weeks. Two weeks ago, we noticed cattle mutilation, this time closer to the city. Last week, and three days ago, there were huge electrical storms above NYC, right ?"

"Yes," answered Annabelle. "The mobile network was going crazy, it was really hard to make a call or send a text, and the internet was really slow. You could easily fry up a light bulb just by turning on the lights, because there was too much electricity. Are they any more omens, in the city, more precise?

Sam turned the map down, on this side there was a map of New York city.

"Yes," he said as he circled the business district. "This sector is going crazy apparently, flickering lights, radios going on and off, since a week, only around a few building."

He drew one more circle, and Annabelle was sorry to know what was in the middle. She frowned and stood silent for a minute. Then she looked at Sam and Dean :

"That was you, the thieves, this morning, you were investigating ?"

"Well," answered Dean, "Not exactly. We were looking for you. We saw demonic omens around your building too, and the demon precisely described you. We were looking for that journal, the demon told us about it. But when we met, you weren't aggressive. So we followed you to your apartment."

She smiled and sighed.

"I thought you were demons, or angels but... wait. The demon told you about my journal ?"

"Uhm... yes ?"

"How could he know ? I've started writing it _after_ Pahaliah set me free, I needed something where I could tell and preserve my story and all the things I've learned... That can only mean..."

"That they've been monitoring you. Whoever they are." finished Sam.

She shuddered.

"That is pretty terrifying. I didn't notice... I was really careful for two years, but then I started to loosen up because nothing was happening to me directly... The demons' plan... I hope it's not about Adramelech, that nobody is trying to bring him back. He told all of his bitches that he would only have _me_ , because, and here I'm quoting him, ''we share great memories''... They must have seen I left the building in a hurry. They're probably looking for me, and they probably saw you too, Apparently you became really famous in the last few years, and if they know I'm with you, shit's gonna hit the fan..."

Dean crossed his arms in front of him.

"We can deal with a few demons, nothing we haven't done before, he said with a bit of pride."

Anna nodded at him :

"No, I'm not talking about a few demons. Just as I am Pahaliah's favourite and that Castiel must watch over me, I'm Adramelech's favourite, they can't have me with hunters, divulging their secrets away. I'm talking about an _army_. Adramelech is Chancellor of Hell, Lucifer's very own bestie, his meat suit -aka, _me_ \- is valuable merchandize. We are in trouble... Except..."

"Except what ?" asked Dean.

Anna leaned over the map.

"They're here for a reason, and it's not for me, or I would have been captured a long time ago. They must have one or two demons watching me on a daily basis, but to have strong omens like these..."

"That's at least a dozen of them...Or a really big one." continued Sam.

Anna bit her lip, studying the map, trying to find another answer rather than the one she was thinking of.

"Something big is happening... And... it's happening right here."

As she talked, she put her finger in the centre of the circle Sam drew on the business district.

"What's here ?" asked Castiel.

"The Avengers Tower..." answered Anna with a hollow voice.

 

* * *

**Hi there everyone ! Thank you for reading this, I appreciate the time you spend reading what I wrote ! I'd love to hear from you, and anything you might think about my story ! Don't hesitate to review or even to PM me to ask questions about the characters or the plot really ! Thank you !**

**See you next chapter ;) !**

  


 


	3. Hit the road Jack

 

**Hello everybody, welcome to Chapter 3 ! Enjoy your reading !**

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 3 : Hit the road Jack**

 

"The Avengers tower ?" asked Dean. "Where there is Iron Man ? You mean... Iron Man is a demon ?"

Anna tilted her head down to have a better look at the map.

"No, he can't be. I saw him this morning, he was perfectly fine, he was just..."

She remembered the few hours she spent with him in the morning. Stark, who is usually rather talkative, would only throw a couple of fancy or sassy lines, and sip on her coffee while looking outside the window or fumbling through her files. She didn't want to think he looked troubled this morning, however, with all the new information she had, she started to wonder what was really happening in Stark Tower that he was fleeing from. She didn't really know Pepper Potts herself, she would only see her during business meetings, or catch a glimpse or her during galas, but nothing more.

"You know Iron Man ? said Sam with admiration."

She smiled and shuddered her shoulders.

"Yes, he is a friend of the owner of the company I work in, James McKeen. We often see him. I was the CEO's assistant for four years, so we used to meet often. We got along. He came in my office this morning, though... He wasn't feeling very well I guess... Can I borrow your phone for a second ?"

Sam took his cellphone out of his jean pocket and handed it out to her. Dean asked him with a glance if that was really reasonable, but Sam did it anyway, which made his older brother roll his eyes. Anna dialled Olivia's desk number. It must have been 7pm in New York, so she was still at work.

" _Officers desk, how can I help you ?_ " answered the lovely Canadian accent.

"Hi Olly, it's me, Anna."

" _Annie ! Are you alright ? We tried to call you, but no one could reach you ! After you left, FBI agents came in, they had no idea they was another team before them, they checked, and there are no agents Tyler and Perry ! Those were false badges, can you imagine ? Who were those guys ?"_

Anna laughed a little looking at Sam and Dean now, out of their monkey suits, wearing jeans and military boots. They really looked like hunters now.

"Yeah, I told you they were weird... Whatever, Olly, I need a favour, could you call Pepper Potts for me, please ?"

" _Hum, sure ! Is this about Mr Stark and this morning ? Is he ok ?"_

"Yeah, I'm sure he is, it's just to check something."

" _Ok then, no problem, just wait a second, I'm putting you on hold_."

"No problem, thank you honey."

As the company ad song was playing, Annabelle turned back to the map, then to Sam and Dean :

"What omens precisely did you have around Stark tower ?"

Sam tapped the pen on the table, looking at his brother, trying to remember the details of this case.

"Well, like we said, electrical storms, big stuff. Flickering lights, radios and TVs going crazy..."

"A guy complained about an earthquake, but there was none." said Dean.

"An earthquake ? "

"Apparently." answered the Winchester, shrugging his shoulders.

Anna bit her lip one more time, thinking.

" _This is Pepper Potts_ ," she heard suddenly.

Anna focused and smiled as she turned her back and walked a few steps away from the men.

"Hello Mrs Potts, this is Annabelle Andersen, CAO of McKeen Industries, maybe you remember me... Yes, haha, me too ! ... Yes, maybe you know, Tony came in today, he spent the morning with me... Oh, he didn't ? ... Well, he seemed a bit troubled, I wanted to know if everything was okay, he mentioned the cleaning of his lab... It's not ?... Did he... oh, no, I understand, sorry if I bothered you... Yes, have a good evening Mrs Potts, you too."

She hang up.

"Did you just call Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark industries ?" asked Sam with an impressed grin.

Anna sighed and turned around.

"After leaving this life of misery, I was lucky enough to find a job as an assistant to Mr McKeen for four years. Then, I got promoted to the post of CAO, about a year ago. I make big money, I have an apartment downtown and I have very famous friends. I hope you won't throw me back into Adramelech's or Pahaliah's hands, because the second I'll be free, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Dean smiled and pointed at her :

" _Taken_ , right ?"

She looked back at him with a very serious expression on her face.

"It's not a joke, Dean Winchester."

That was it. That woman they knew for less that twenty four hours already was a pain in his ass. He lost his smile and walked up to her :

"Hey lady, I've been to Hell, I've seen some horrible things too, and you better stop talking to me like that, I was a master of torture under Alastair's orders, you have no idea what _I_ am capable of."

She grinned back at him, unimpressed :

"Congratulation, you're a dick with a degree."

Sam tried to hide his smile, it was a bit too funny to see his brother constantly being duelled by a woman wearing an expensive suit. Annabelle was surely twenty centimetres shorter than Dean, but wasn't afraid to stand against him. Dean saw the grin on his brother's face :

"You think that's funny ?"

Sam turned around with a laugh, facing Castiel still sitting on the couch.

"Nope."

Dean mumbled and went to the kitchen. Annabelle went back to the map.

"Something is wrong. This morning, Tony was a bit... weird. He told me it was ''cleaning week'' in his lab, so he couldn't work there. But Pepper told be there was no such thing, and that she wouldn't even risk the life of an employee there. It may be related to the omens. Maybe someone there is possessed, that's why he was out of the Avengers tower."

"Why did he came to you ?" wondered Sam.

"I don't really know... I'm a good listener, and we got to know each other after a year or two. During a party he was throwing in his tower, we got to talk for an hour, I guess he just needed someone... I really don't know, Sam."

"We need to investigate," continued Castiel. "Whatever is in this tower is powerful, and needs to be stopped. We need to go there."

"That won't be easy, there is a strong security in this tower : guards, surveillance cameras, special forces, ..."

"Special forces ?"

"Yes, since he is officially Iron Man, his safety is primordial. The government has added a bit of theirs. I could go in easily, but you three can't. Unless..."

"Unless what ?" said Dean, coming from the kitchen with four beers.

He handed everyone one, and sat on the couch, still not convinced that Annabelle could be any useful now.

"If I remember well, Stark is throwing a gala in two days. There isn't less security, but with the proper dress code, every one gets in. I hope you have something fancy you can wear, all of you."

Castiel looked at her :

Something fancy ?"

Sam smiled, and stroke his shoulder.

"Yeah, that should do, we got suits."

"Your suits ? From this morning ? Don't tease me, Winchester, this is barely wearable. I have a friend that might provide you with something that could fit all of you, even you, Sam. Good lord, you must spend a lot on fabric."

"For him, you need to spend more on food, he's a walking stomach." laughed Dean.

"A stomach can't walk, Dean." said Castiel very seriously.

An awkward silent filled the room, and Castiel looked at his friends who were both suddenly silent. Sam finally snorted :

"It's ok, Cass, it's just an expression."

"So, began Anna, we need to be back in New York city for after tomorrow. Where are we exactly ?"

"South Dakota." answered Dean, standing up from the couch.

Anna almost choked on her sip of beer.

" _South Dakota_ ? What ?"

"We brought you here because it's safe," explained Sam. "The house belongs to one of our friends, Bobby Singer. He's on a hunt right now, he should be back tomorrow."

"For someone who did not want to help, you're getting pretty well involved here." said Dean with a sarcastic tone.

"Tony Stark is a friend. He may have fought against gods, I'm sure he has no idea what's dwelling in his tower. I have to help him. Wouldn't you do the same for a friend ?"

Sam and Dean shared a look full of memories, then looked down and smiled.

"You all need to rest before the attack," stoically said Castiel.

"Yes, you're right," said Sam. "There is a room you can stay in Annabelle."

It was beginning to be dark outside, and Dean turned on the lights.

"There isn't much in the fridge though, are any of you guys hungry ? I'm starving, I could use a burger."

"Yes, me too," answered Sam. "You're hungry, Cass, Annabelle ?"

The woman sat on a chair, and took off her jacket.

"After this whole thing, not really. I just need to sleep to forget I got dragged back into this life. If you find a bottle of vodka, I'd also like to forget my life choices."

"There is a diner ten minutes from here, and a store, we'll see what we can get, answered Castiel. Can you really drink that much alcohol in one sitting ?"

"Try me." she snorted.

"Dean, Cass, we'll wait for you here."

Dean and the angel left the house. Sam looked at Anna, sighing one more time, her gaze lost in her thoughts.

"Would you like another beer ?" he offered her.

"Sure, thank you."

When he came back from the kitchen, Sam sat facing her. She looked really tired now. Her suit was all crumpled, she had blood on it and some more on her thigh when she had tried to transplane. From her tight chignon, a few strands of hair had slipped and were stroking gently her round and delicate nose. Her lipstick had faded a bit, but she still had this ''elegant'' glow.

"I hope Dean did not hurt you too much, when we took you from your apartment," he said with a really sorry look.

"It's okay, she smiled, I've grown accustomed to headaches now. "

"Is your hand okay ?"

"I will heal."

"Thank you for helping us."

"Well, I don't really have a choice now. Some demon probably saw you taking me away, or will notice that I am missing, so, joke's on me too, now. Your friend angel, Castiel..."

"Yeah ?"

"How come he became your _friend_ ?"

Sam grinned, sat back, and sipped on his beer.

"Dean died, a few years ago."

She smiled and was going to laugh, but saw in Sam's expression that he was telling the truth.

"I had been killed, for good. Dean made a deal with a demon, to bring me back to life. He only had one year, and we didn't find anything to save him from it. So he died... Four months later, he came back to life. Castiel had raised him from Hell, an order from _''above_ '' _._ Dean has this... this mark, on his shoulder, a hand, that was Castiel. At first, he was just another angel, but he rebelled because he believed in us. Now, he's with us."

"Uh uh... I guess he can be trusted," said Anna, slowly drinking her beer. "I hope you understand why I can be so weary of supernatural beings."

"Don't worry, after what you told us... Nobody is going to hold it against you."

"Maybe your brother ? Dean doesn't really appreciate me, it seems."

"Oh, he doesn't really like demons and angels in general, plus, we were going to kill you at first, I think he still believes you're useless for us. Sorry if he gives off a bad image of hunters."

"After what happened to me, I've met a lot of hunters, from many origins. Not all of them were cruel, and I've made a few friends. I've helped them sometimes, with just a few demon tricks, nothing big. They started to call me ''the Linguist'', because I can speak many other languages apart from those of Heaven and Hell."

"That's a good nickname, we heard you calling for help in different languages earlier. Where did you learn all of that ?"

"I have a gift for languages, I learn pretty fast. I've studied them at university, and as a hobby. Can come in handy."

"I guess, haha !

Sam and Annabelle talked for a long moment. Annabelle was starting to relax a little, and Sam to get to know their unexpected guest. When Dean and Castiel came back, they found them laughing with a couple of empty beers on the floor near them, talking about hunts or such demon stories. Dean didn't really like that everybody was getting along with her, as if she could ever be part of the family. He put the paper bag with the burgers on the living room table, after folding up the map. He was silent during dinner, which was mainly Sam and Castiel speaking to each other, sometimes Anna too. She was obviously really tired, as she spoke less and less. He watched her closely, he was prepared in case she would change plans and leave. After the meal, she asked if someone would have some vodka with her, and after Dean forbid Castiel to say yes, Sam accepted. Castiel left, he had ''other matters to attend'', and Dean sat down at the table and started reading some more lore about and what could attract demons to the Avengers tower, while Sam and Anna were having a drink on the couch. They continued to talk a bit, but soon Anna asked to be showed where was the guest room.

"I can give you one of my plaid shirt for tonight, if you want."

Anna took a look at Sam :

"Well, your shirts probably look like dresses on me, so sure, why not !"

And they both left the living room, leaving a fumbling Dean behind. Sam came back two minutes later, finishing his drink.

"You're having fun ?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed, and sat with him.

"Why are you so harsh on her, she's going to help us !"

"Or we are falling right into a trap, Sam. Adra-whatever sounds like a really powerful bitch, maybe he's not like other demons, maybe he doesn't fear holy water. I just started reading about him, he was a sadistic son of a bitch. Children were sacrificed to him in Mesopotamia. He's effectively BFF with Lucifer, and also _the attendant to Satan's wardrobe_ ? "

"This explains why she gives great importance to what she's wearing, and what we could be wearing at Stark's gala."

Dean frowned.

"And same goes for Pahaliah, some major angel, of virtuosity, knowledge, determination, and wisdom."

"Determination ? That must be for the sassy attitude she has towards you," laughed Sam. "You too are going to get along well."

"I don't need to be friend with her. As soon as this is over, we forget her."

"Dean, what's wrong ? She already told us a lot of things, she has really good knowledge of the worlds of demons and angels..."

"So do we !"

"She could teach us a thing or two about those demonic languages. She suffered as much as we did. She understand that. She's clever and really funny, and reasonable. Plus, she knows Stark, she can get us into the Tower."

"That's true." they heard behind them.

It was Annabelle. She had changed into Sam's shirt, and it was huge on her, it fell down to her mid-thighs, and she had to roll up the sleeves. She had let her hair loose, and the boys were surprised to see she had long wavy hair, that rolled down to her lower back. She was holding the bottle of vodka in one of her hands.

"Sorry to interrupt your little committee. It was just to warn you : I don't sleep very well. I usually have nightmares. I may scream during the night. In English, Enochian, or whatever other language I know, so, don't bother check on me, I usually wake myself up and go back to sleep just after."

"Really ?" asked Sam.

"When you spend two years of you life seeing babies being ripped apart, you do. I guess you two here can compete."

Dean just drank his beer, his eyebrows frowned.

"Ok, well, we know now. Good night, Annabelle," Sam wished her.

"Thanks, you too Winchesters."

And she left. Dean was dead silent.

"Come on dude, give her some slack. She's been through a lot, she can't be jumping in your arms like some random chick in a bar."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Sammy. I'll take the first watch, you can go to bed."

"Watch ? Dean, it's gonna be ok..."

"Go rest, Sammy, I'll wake you up in four hours."

Sam sighed, and went to bed. There was a twenty hours drive to New York, and if they had to change clothes first, they'd have to stop on the way. Dean finished his beer, still reading about Pahaliah. He spent the next two hours reading about Tony Stark, to see if anything was unusual, but nothing really worthy of a case came up. He lost his focus, and ran his hands on his face, trying not to feel tired. He still had two hours to go before waking up his little brother, when he heard a faint voice coming from upstairs. He looked up at the ceiling. Nothing, silence. He got up, and went to the kitchen to get another beer, and he heard the voice again, less faint this time, it really sounded like someone was crying upstairs. Then, suddenly, an awful cry of pain and terror shook the house, and Dean jumped to his gun, it was from the guest room. Probably what Annabelle had warned them about, but this sounded way to real. Sam joined Dean, still half asleep.

"Is that her ?" he asked.

"Sounds like it.."

"Should we... check on her ?"

"She said we wouldn't need to."

"I don't know, I don't really like this."

Another terrible cry echoed between the walls, and the brothers, with a look, agreed to check what's what. They got up the stairs, and went for the room at the end of the corridor. They gently opened the door, ready to jump on an attacker, but just saw a trembling form under the cover. The bottle of vodka was sitting on the night stand, empty. Sam went to the bed, where Anna was shaking, eyes closed, her forehead covered in sweat. He gently shook her shoulder, once, twice, and the third time, she finally opened her eyes. She was all stiff, and sat up in the bed, her hair was all messy, and her cheeks were red. She glanced at the two worried brothers with a sorry look.

"Did I wake you up ? I screamed, didn't I ? I'm really sorry..."

"It's... It's okay," answered Sam. "It just sounded..."

"Real." finished Dean.

She shrugged her shoulders and tried to comb her hair with her fingers.

"I'm sorry... Usually when I drink before going to bed, it works, I just have a dreamless night, I guess it didn't work this time. Please, go back to bed, I'm really sorry."

"You sure ?"

"Yes, yes, I'm... used to those kind of nightmares, thank you."

They both left the room and closed the door, as she lied back in the bed. They shared a concerned gaze, and went back down to the living room.

"Ok, I admit, she must have seen some horrible shit to have such nights." said Dean, out of experience.

"Poor girl. Do you have such dreams too ?" asked Sam.

"No, I don't." bluntly lied his older brother turning his back to him.

"Dean, come on."

"Sam, I've already told you what had happened down there. I'm fine, okay ? Go back to sleep."

Sam sat down at the table.

"I don't think I can go back to sleep now, you go."

"No, I'm not really feeling sleepy. Or safe."

"Because of her ?"

"If some major demon like Adramelech is on her ass, that worries me. She's a freaking demon and angel magnet, dude. I'm not saying she can't be trusted, I'm saying it's dangerous to stay near her. And trust me, she'd rather _transplane_ her way out and leave us covered in sulphur bitches."

"Come on Dean, you don't even know her that well to make such hypothesis. Anyway, what did you find out ?"

Dean sat down next to his brother, turned the computer screen so he could read it too :

"Well, nothing really interesting. Billionaire Tony Stark went to a desert, got those shrapnels, got saved, built a bad-ass armour, dealt with threats from outer-space and Nordic gods... It's kind of over our heads here."

"We've fought against pagan gods," reminded him Sam. "We killed them."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Mr Stark wouldn't be too happy if we killed his friends. He hangs with this Bruce Banner, the _Hulk_ , who can literally go Jolly Giant and rip a city apart, and Captain America."

Sam laughed :

"Dude, do you imagine, _Captain America_ ?"

"Yeah. I guess we could say we battle against America's inner demons, and they fight against the _outer_ demons ? Could we make a great team ?" joked Dean.

"I don't know, I don't think we would really belong, you know, we can't... fly, or we don't have superpowers."

"You used to _bend_ demons to your will. And we have Cass. Plus, they have this _Hawkeye_ guy, he can only shoot arrows. I can shoot guns, we're on the same level."

"Dude, they have _Thor_ , the god of Thunder. He literally lives in another world. And he has Mjölnir !"

"Mjö..what ?"

"Mjölnir, Thor's magic hammer, who was given to him by his father Odin."

"We had the Colt !"

Sam snorted, his brother did too.

"Right, the _Colt_ !"

Sam yawned, and after saying good night to his brother, went back to bed. The night went well, no other sound was heard from the room Anna was sleeping in. Dean snoozed in the sofa, a book still on his lap.

When Dean opened his eyes, morning was timidly pointing out. The first rays of sun were caressing the windows. He yawned and stretched, before standing up. He put the book on the table, and went upstairs, to check on Annabelle. He was startled when he saw the empty bed. She had taken her clothes, and had left Sam's shirt crumpled on the bed. He swore under his breath, and ran back downstairs, calling out for his brother. Sam got out of his room and joined his brother in the living room a minute after.

"What ?"

"Annabelle's gone."

Sam immediately grabbed a gun. He searched the house while Dean was taking a look outside. How could he have let her slip between his fingers ! He was going to curse her again, but he saw her, standing near the Impala, outside. He ran, and discovered she just was looking for something in the back seat.

"Hey ! he shouted. Step back !"

She was wearing her skirt and her white top, she had left the jacket in the kitchen the day before. She turned to him.

"Oh, good, you're here. Have you seen my heels ? Please tell me you took them with me when you kidnapped me... Stop pointing a gun at me, it makes me feel uneasy."

He sighed, and put the fire arm at the back of his belt. He stepped up to her, and from under the driver seat, took out her pair of white heels.

"Oh my god, thank you ! These are a limited edition, I would be sick if you had lost them ! Hurray !"

She was relieved, but Dean looked down at her with a frowned face. He was clearly not amused and pouting, his arms crossed. She glanced right back at him.

"Ok, Dean Winchester, tell me what's wrong. I didn't run away, I'm here with your _Baby_ , I want to whoop some demon ass, just like you and Sam, so, what grudge do you hold against me ?"

He considered her for a couple of seconds.

"You seem well to be too cool with this whole situation."

"Do I really have a choice ? Plus, I told you, my friend is in danger. You don't like me talking to your brother ? Have you seen me compared to him ? I wouldn't be able to hurt him even if I wanted to. "

"You hurt _me_." he answered, showing her his palm in a bandage.

She smiled back at him.

"You're doing great, soldier, your recovery will be very fast, I promise. "

"Oh thank you for your diagnostic doctor."

Finally, he was joking with her, almost. She encouraged him with another beaming smile, and gently tapped his arm before putting on her heels and walking towards the house. Sam appeared in the front door, upset, and saw Anna calmly walking towards him, and Dean smiling in the distance near the Impala. Anna passed next to Sam when entering the house.

"Do you got any coffee ? I like black coffee."

Sam glanced at Dean, also walking towards the house. He looked at his older brother with confusion. He stopped next to his brother, and sighed :

"Good god, how can she walk in those, right ?"

"Uh... yeah, I guess ?"

And the two brothers entered the house. Dean followed Anna into the kitchen, and laughed when he saw she was fumbling into the cabinets to find coffee. He started to prepare the beverage, knowing where was what. She washed three cups that were in the sink, and dried them with a towel that was on a chair before putting them near the coffee machine.

"Thank you." said Dean.

"So... This house belongs to one of your friends ?" mentioned Anna.

"Yeah, his name is Bobby, he was a friend of our dad. He is a hunter too. He... he is really important to us."

She gently smiled. Sam came in, buttoning his shirt.

"Bobby just called, he should be here tonight. But we need to be gone as soon as possible at least if we want to have time to reach New York in time, especially if we need to go to the city centre."

"Coffee will be ready soon." answered Dean, as he sat down to the table. Anna sat with him.

"We should stop somewhere for breakfast."

"Hey lady, stopped Dean, we need to get going, we can't stop every hour, we need to be there as fast as possible."

"Okaaaay, she sighed while rolling her eyes. Do you have anything to eat here ? I guess not. God I'm already hungry. I eat for six for breakfast. Can't we stop just for a slice of pie ?"

Dean looked at her, and Sam started laughing :

"If you mention pie, we might have to stop, Dean is crazy about pies."

"What's your favourite ?" asked the older brother, while filling the three cups with the hot coffee.

"Mmmmh... raspberries. With fresh raspberries. And cream cheese. A lot of cream cheese. What's yours ?"

"Pecan pie, they're the best."

"Let me disagree," she continued while taking her first sip of coffee with pleasure. I think they're too sweet. Fruit pies bring a bit of fresh.

Dean shook his head :

"Nope, pecan pies are just right !"

The next ten minutes were about Dean and Annabelle arguing about what pies should be honoured first, while drinking their cups of coffee. Sam prepared the bags, the salt, and their exorcising book, and loaded everything in the trunk. Dean went to take his shower, while Anna took care of her hair and tried to flat out her outfit. Sam was glancing at her from the other side of the living room as she was facing the mirror in the entrance.

"Uh, we might have some women clothes here, do you want some ?"

She turned to him :

"Oh, do you usually go drag queen and hang out in the nearest bar ?" she laughed.

Sam giggled, imagining his brother and his large shoulders in a dress and wearing heavy make-up for a second.

"No, Bobby used to be married. You might borrow some of her clothes, if you want ?"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to borrow your friend's wife's clothes, at our first occasion I'll buy a pair of jeans and a shirt... oh wait. I don't have my purse."

"We can pay it for you if you want, we... we have credit cards."

"Oh, no, don't worry, I do not look so bad, that will do. So, when is our plane ?"

Dean was coming down from the bathroom.

"We're not taking the plane."

She looked at him, with a smile, ready to go along with the joke.

"Yeah, sure, who would take a simple four hours flight, when we can drive more than fifteen hours to New York, right ?"

"Actually, it's twenty hours." answered Dean in the most serious way.

She lost her smile, and look at Sam, who wore a sorry face.

"You got to be kidding me."

* * *

"You got to be kidding meeeee..."

"We heard you the thirteen first times." groaned Dean.

They had been driving for an hour now. Dean was behind the wheel, concentrated on the road, there was AC/DC playing. Sam was sitting in the front, but turned towards Anna, who was sitting in the middle of the back seat, leaned back and sighing.

"I can't believe we're _driving_ to New York. Is that how you brought me here in the first place ?"

"Yes." answered Sam.

"I don't like to fly, okay ?" said Dean.

"You _drive_ everywhere ? Gosh..."

"We do. We know a lot of places, we've met a lot of people, and we hunt a lot of monsters, we save lives."

"I guess ? ... Oh my god. I don't care of travelling, but for _twenty_ hours ? Even a flight to Korea is less long ! We didn't even have breakfast. I'm probably going to die."

She looked at Sam with pity in her eyes, and he smiled back at her.

"It's gonna be okay, we can stop in two hours in Rochester, Minnesota, we will need to get gas anyway."

"You must spend so much on gas, though."

"Do you always complain so much ?" groaned the driver.

Anna leaned forward and put her chin on the driver seat.

"Only when I have to undergo a twenty hours road trip with two guys I barely know who abducted me the day before. You ?"

Dean grinned, and looked at her in the rear-view mirror, and she glanced back at him with her grey-blue eyes.

"Only when I have a supernatural magnet in my backseat that wear limited edition high heels, he answered."

She laughed and went on :

"They're so classy, I absolutely love them. They were only fourteen made, for the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues. These are white, they are Chastity. I also bought Wrath, they are blood red."

"Are you that into fashion ?" wondered Sam.

"I wasn't at first. I used to dress just because I had to, I didn't really care. Then, Adry came in."

" _Adry ?"_

"Adramelech. This name is way too long. ''Adry'' is diminishing. He hates it, so that's perfect. He is in charge of Luci's wardrobe, you know. He thought I was _wasting_ my body for dressing so bad. He made me wear expensive dresses and shoes, and everything. When you get possessed by someone for so long, they really rub off on you. Plus, Adramelech added a lot of money on my bank account for all his business, and never got to take it back. Anyway, that's why I am really fan of fashion now. Well, I like to wear expensive and gorgeous shit."

Two hours later, they stopped at a gas station. Dean took care of filling up the car, while Sam and Annabelle went to the store. Sam opened the door to let Anna in first, and she thanked him with a smile. They walked through the store together.

"What do you want for breakfast, you're still hungry ?"

"Yeah, I'd probably kill for a bagel and a large black coffee. What are you taking for breakfast ?"

"Uh, we don't eat much for breakfast, we will probably stop at a diner in a couple of hours from now. Yoghurt ?"

"Yes, please ! ... Oh look, they have those fruity pearls."

"You like them ?"

"I'm _crazy_ for them !"

"Me too !"

"Oh my, Sam, you are adorable, what's your favourite flavour ?"

"Peach !"

"Me too ! Let's take some. Oh my god I want to eat those so bad it hurts."

"Haha...You _do_ like them. Let's take five."

"Five ? God, you _do_ need to be greatly fed haha, your brother was right. Oh look, they have those marshmallow bears !"

Sam looked down on her with curiosity :

"You seem rather relaxed for what we're going to do. Have you already developed the Stockholm syndrome ?"

"Haha, you wish. No, I guess I would rather come with you than rather have you two get in Tony Stark's life and ruining everything."

"So, you're close to him ?"

"Not that much, but I appreciate him, and he appreciates me. He's a dear friend to my boss, James McKeen. He was in my office yesterday morning, and he seemed... troubled."

"Do you think he knows what's up in his tower ?"

"I don't really know. But I don't think _he_ is the demon that is causing all those omens. I would have sense it."

"You can sense demons ?"

"Uh, in a way. And you know, a demon would have rub it in my face that Adry was coming for me, I guess."

"You guys are ready ?"

Sam and Annabelle turned around to see Dean, his wallet in his hand.

"You're getting marshmallow bears ?"

"Yeah," answered Sam. "You want some ?"

Dean took a quick look at Anna, hesitated, but mumbled :

"I don't need marshmallow bears..."

And he headed for the counter to pay for the gas. Sam and Anna shared an amused glance, and Sam grabbed a pack of biers before heading to the counter himself, followed by Anna. After that, they all went back to the car, and hit the road.

"You want marshmallow bears, Dean ?" asked Sam as he was opening the package and giving two to Anna.

"What's up with you and marshmallow bears all of a sudden ? You never buy any sweets, Sammy."

"Well, Anna convinced me I wanted some. We have those pearl candies too, they're peach, you want some ?"

"No !"

"Come on Dean, break the bread with us !" insisted Anna with a glimpse of laughter in her eyes.

"Was that a Bible reference ?" noted Dean.

"Hmm... Yeah ! What are we listening to ? AC/DC again ?"

"Uh... hesitated Dean while looking for his music tapes. Let's go for Bad Company."

"Dean, we listened to the album three times already on the way to Sioux Falls !"

"Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole !"

Anna laughed in the back seat :

"That is a good sentence, you should get that tattooed."

"- _He_ should get that tattooed," cried Dean. "I'm the driver."

"Can I drive ?" asked Sam.

"No. We're listening to Bad Company."

Anna relaxed as the car started driving away, she had taken her shoes off for the ride, and was sitting her knees crossed. The weather was fine, landscapes were flat, fields and fields and fields lied beyond she could see.

"So, since the gala is tomorrow night, we'll stop for the night," declared Dean. "Probably in Toledo, that's halfway."

The sun was coming down when they entered Toledo. They pulled over in the first motel, and parked. Anna stepped out of the car and stretched after having put on her heels back on. She put her jacket on her shoulders, and walked a few steps. Sam and Dean left the car, and headed to the front desk. Anna followed them.

"A room with two beds for Jack and Denis Davidson," asked Dean.

The tenant looked at them both, then at small Annabelle standing idly in her crumpled suit behind them. He smirked.

"You have to pay by the night here, you can't pay by the hour."

Dean frowned, and exchanged a glance with his brother, then looked at Anna.

"We're not... She's not..." tried Sam.

"Hey, your business gentlemen. But you have to pay by the night."

Anna rolled her eyes and sighed, then she stepped up and slapped Sam's ass, who jumped with surprise and looked at her with incomprehension.

"It's okay, _I_ get paid by the hour. Move on, boys." she smiled with a heavy eastern Europe accent.

Then she went back outside. The owner looked at them as if they were disgusting. Sam sighed, his cheeks red, he had been caught by surprise. Dean couldn't decide between laughing because of his brother's face or trying to persuade the tenant they did not hire a hooker. He signed the papers, and was given the key to room 26, then he left with Sam. They met Anna outside.

"Why did you do that ? This guys now thinks I'm having sex with my own brother !" groaned Dean.

"You should have seen Sam's face. Your ass is very comfy to slap, she then said to the younger brother. Or did you want the owner to think we were doing drugs and call the police ?"

"Well, we might n... What's..."

Dean put an arm before his brother, and indicated the wall with his other hand. On the door of room 24, a disgusting transparent jelly was covering the door handle.

" _Dégueu..._ What is that ?"

Dean and Sam looked at each other with an understanding glance.

"Shapeshifter." they whispered at the same time.

 

* * *

 

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter ! Please consider reviewing, it would help me a lot to know what you're thinking about all this :) !**

**See you next chapter ;) !**

 


	4. Toledo Hunt

 

 

**Hello everybody ! Thank you for keeping up with my story ! I hope you still enjoy it !  
**

**Enjoy your chapter, please review !**

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 4 : Toledo Hunt**

 

Anna's eyes widened, and they quickly went into their room. Sam looked around to see if there was anything unusual about this room, while Dean was closing the door. Anna sat on the nearby bed and watched them verify the security of their room.

"Anna, would you help me for a sec ?" asked Dean, heading for the door.

"Yeah, sure."

Annabelle followed him to the trunk of the Impala. Dean unlocked it and opened it. She whistled with admiration as she saw the arsenal of guns and blades.

"Well... that is pretty impressive. Do I have to worry for my life or... ?"

"Unless you're that shifter." laughed Dean.

"Nah. I'm not. But if you have the slightest doubt, please cut me with any silver you will find."

He turned to her with surprise :

"You know about the silver ?"

He had a couple of blades in a bag she took with her before saying :

"I've helped hunters, remember ? I've never hunted a shifter, but I heard good hunting stories."

Dean grabbed a couple of ropes and followed her into the room of the motel. He closed the door then he added :

"You've hunted before ?"

Sam was coming back from the bathroom and wondered what they were talking about. He took off his jacket and sat down at the table.

"Anna, you've hunted before ?" he repeated.

She put the gear on the bed, and sat on the covers next to it.

"I've helped a couple of hunters, with demons most of the time. And one ghost, who gave me this one."

She showed them the back of her right shoulder. A slightly pink line of ten centimetres was still there.

"Deciphering, translating resources, a little pinch when the demons were being naughty, before sending them back to Hell. Then we would share a bottle, and hunting stories."

"These hunters..."

"Some are from Mexico, others even from Europe, in America just for some game to hunt. But I've delt with American hunters too."

Sam smiled at her, he was agreeably surprised she had hunting experience. He got up and put the beers in the mini fridge.

"So... we got a shifter on our hands. What are we going to do ?"

"Find who he is, catch him, kill him, then have a good night of sleep," answered Dean. "Anna, stay here, we're gonna take a look around."

"I know how to swing a blade !" she riposted with a frustrated look on her face.

Dean detailed her then smiled.

"You ?"

She got up on her feet and showed his hand.

"I hurt _you_. Don't underestimate me."

He frowned, and looked at Sam, who shuddered his shoulders.

"No," said finally Dean. "You're staying here. I don't trust you enough. Peep out of the window and see if you can witness anything suspicious."

She sat down with a sigh.

"Can I have silver ?"

He considered her for a second, but didn't have time to answer before Sam took out a silver knife of the bunch they had taken from the trunk. She thanked him, and briefly examined the knife before putting it the rim of her skirt. Then, the two brothers left.

"You trust her ?" whispered Dean.

"Dude, if she had wanted to slip through our fingers or kill us, she would have done so already. Plus, I like her."

" _Like_ like ?"

"No, Dean !" Sam sighed. "She's funny. Do yourself a favour and stop being so paranoid."

Dean shook his head with disapprobation :

"Take the rear, I'll go question the tenant."

Sam left and Dean hid his knife in his pocket before going in. The owner looked a him entering and stopped what he was doing.

"Can I help you with anything, _sir_ ?"

"Uh... Yeah, was there anyone unusual around here ?"

Dean didn't really appreciate the ''besides you?''-look the front desk man was giving him.

"Why do you even care ?"

"I uh... I can't... you know... when I don't... don't feel safe."

Dean cursed Anna in his mind. God damn her and her stupid ideas. The owner looked down on him with disgust.

"You're a whole new level of freak, aren't you ?"

"Man you have no idea. he declared with a heinous glance.

"Do your business and leave the premises sir." finished the owner.

Dean was going to leave, but from his mind sprung an idea. He indicated the ''VACANCY'' sign out. A group of teenagers were hanging out near it.

"I hope you have another sign, because they look like they're going to take this one from you."

The owner jumped on his feet and ran outside yelling. Dean made sure he wouldn't be seen, and went around the desk. He opened the guest book.

"24, 24... come on... Mr Verandering ? What kind of..."

He heard the owner coming back, and quickly left. He met Sam behind the building.

"Anything ? How's the 24th ?"

"There's a girl living there. She's gorgeous, I think that's her only flaw. She just left."

"A girl you said ? She had her stuff there ?"

"Yeah, like a bunch of bikinis and stuff."

"Dude, the room is under ''Mr Verandering''."

" '' _Mister_ '' ?"

"Yep. Pretty sure we have our case. Let's knock. And catch her."

"Easy there. Let's go back to our room first. We will need ropes to tie her up."

"Right."

The two brothers went back to room 26, where they found Anna sitting on the table, drinking a beer.

"They're cold, you want one ?" she proposed as they closed the door behind them. "So, you found anything ?"

"Turns out the blonde chick in the 24th registered as '' _Mr_ Verandering''."

"Oh, that's definitely her." Anna answered while taking another sip.

Dean looked at her, she seemed really certain of what she just said.

"You know something we don't ?"

"'Verandering' means _to transform_ in Dutch. Look it up. Your case has a sense of humour and an education. I saw her leave like two minutes ago. If she turned from a guy to a blonde, she's probably going downtown to con some drunk dude. That's what I would do. "

Sam sat down and put his knife on the bed.

"How are we going to find her in all Toledo ?"

"She has a yellow sports car with two black lines on the sides. And a broken rear light. See, I'm being useful." answered Anna.

Dean rolled his eyes :

"Yes, okay, yes, you're useful. We're going downtown, you stay here."

"What ? Come on !"

"Dean !" cried Sam.

"All right, all right ! Take your jacket it's cold outside."

She got up, smiling after this victory, and put her jacket on her shoulders.

"C'mon, stop it." Dean laughed.

"I won," she sang slightly, "You'll see, I'll be useful."

Dean rolled his eyes with a smile and sat in the car.

Ten minutes later, they were slowly driving through downtown Toledo, trying to see where the car was parked.

"I need new clothes, and a shower." sighed Annabelle.

"Yeah, I could use a shower too," ran on Sam. "Oh look, there !"

Sam was pointing at the car Anna had described earlier.

"Is that it ?" asked Dean.

"Да" confirmed Anna. "You can park just behind it."

"The nearest bar is this one. _The Oronoco_. Oh look Anna, there's a 24/7 corner store just there. Looks like they could have a pair of jeans for you. Here."

Sam turned to her and gave her one of the many credit card they had.

"Code is 3622."

"Oh my god, thank you so much. I will give you back that money I promise. Do you want me to buy you anything ?"

"No, we're good. Meet you in the bar."

"Sure, thanks."

They went separate ways.

"Dude, you let her go with one of our credit cards ?"

"Dean ! _Trust_ , remember ?"

"Yeah. The... _Oronoco_... Sounds pretty exotic don't you think ?"

"Oh god, not another stripper club..."

"C'mon Sammy, strippers are great, and they're doing a very difficult job, have some respect !"

Sam shook his head and followed his brother into the bar. To Dean's despair, it was just another regular bar with hot young female bartenders. They sat down at one of the tables and waved at a waitress.

"We'll have uh... three beers. We're waiting for someone."

"Okay, 'be right back !"

Sam turned and took a look around.

"So... you see anyone looking like our blonde ?"

"Nah... She may be in the bathroom. And we can't enter the women's, we've been enough creep for tonight."

The waitress came back with three beer bottles, and opened them. She left the note on the table and went to another table.

"I hope she's really here and that she hasn't turned yet."

"Yeah, me too." answered Dean as he was taking the first sip of his beer.

They waited for a couple of minutes before hearing loud female laughs from the restroom. Two women came out of the door. The blonde Sam saw earlier, and another with long and wavy chastain hair, who was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a blue and white plaid shirt of which she had rolled up the sleeves.

"Anna," smiled Sam. "Look, she's with our target."

Dean shook his head with a smirk.

"Oh God, I'm gonna have to admit she was useful."

Anna led the blonde to their table.

"Heeey you guys !" she greeted them. "May I _introduce_ you Arizona !"

"Hi." answered Sam.

Dean smiled and rose his beer as a greeting with a raised eyebrow. Anna suddenly had this heavy southern cow-girl accent.

"Oh my _gosh_ , Arizona, you are _so_ great ! Can you guys _imagine_ that ? She let me borrow her _mascara_ , _you_ are the _greatest_. "

The Winchester brothers shared a concerned glance. The Canadian accent was totally gone and Annabelle acted like one of those silly mindless girls.

"Please sit down _honey_ ! This" -she pointed at Sam- "is my _dearest_ Phil, he's a sweetheart, that's his brother Karl, we've been travelling from Missouri."

Anna curled up against Sam who went with it and put his arm around Anna's shoulders.

"Karl here is going through a _tough_ time with his girl at home, he needs a bit of a _distraction_. He _totally_ digs blondes."

"Oh _yeah_ ?" answered Arizona, as she sat really close to Dean.

The latter raised his eyebrows and smiled to her a bit ill-at-ease. She took the beer from his hand and drank a few sips seductively while looking at him straight in his eyes. Then Dean was startled when she passed her hand through his hair, while Sam and Anna could barely restrain themselves from laughing.

"Oh _honey_ you ordered me something, you're a _charm_ ," continued Anna. "However... Arizona ?"

The blonde turned her eyes away from Dean, who was more disgusted by any second as the shifter was going closer to his lips.

"I have... _certain_... _envies_ now. Do you hear me ? Karl here is sweet. Like _sweet_ sweet. Our hotel is just down the road. Karl has his room, we won't bother you, promise ! You wanna get _out_ of here ?"

Sam scratched his nose to hide his little laugh, Dean's eyes were filled with terror, having sex with a shifter ? Arizona looked at Dean, then back at Annabelle.

"I _totally_ hear you my dear. I feel the same !

Anna got up, followed by Sam, who left a twenty dollars note on the table, and they both let Arizona and Dean get out before they did. Anna glanced at Sam and slightly nodded before taking Arizona by her arm, and walking a few steps before the brothers, while gibbering non-stop with a high-pitched voice. Dean slowed down to reach Sam's level, who was still a bit laughing.

"Dude, that's not fucking funny."

"God, she's good, you gotta admit it."

"Okay right... I don't _ever_ wanna get _that_ close to a shifter ever again."

Anna was slowly leading the group to a dark alley, far from the bar and the main road.

"Your hotel is this way ?" wondered Arizona.

"I _know_ right ? Toledo, these people are _crazy_ ? Who designed this city, _right_ ?"

The Winchesters slowly took out their silver knives, ready to swoop on the shifter, sensing she was beginning to doubt. Anna barely had time to start a new subject that Arizona stopped and faced the two men, and caught the glimpse of silver because of the street lights. She violently pushed Anna against the garbage disposal near, and ran.

"I got her !" shouted Sam, sprinting after the shifter.

Dean knelt down next to Anna, her arm was a bit bleeding, but nothing serious.

"You're all right ?"

"Yeah, yeah !"

He helped her get up, and they ran after Sam. They caught up at a crossroads, Sam was lying unconscious.

"Sammy !" cried Dean.

He shook him, and his brother opened his eyes, while Anna took out her silver knife, and went scouting around.

"Sammy, you all right ?"

"Yeah Dean, she got me by surprise, but..."

He pointed a the goo on the ground next to him.

"She changed..."

"Into what ?"

Sam got up.

"... Into me."

Dean instinctively took a step back.

"Dean !"

Dean turned around, his brother came in running from another street. He didn't have time to shield himself against the attack, and the shifter cut deep into his chest with a piece of broken glass.

"Dean !" yelled Sam.

Sam and Sam got into a brawl, and Dean was trying to keep pressure on his wound and trying to tell the Sams apart. Anna came in running.

"I heard... oh my..."

The Sams stopped fighting.

"Dean, it's me !" said the one on the left.

"Dean, no, don't listen to him, it's me !" cried the one on the right.

"Dean, _I_ am your brother !"

"Dean, he's lying !"

Dean was holding his knife out, trying to decide, Anna came near him.

"Anna, tell me you can help."

"Strangely I do, keep an eye on them."

"What ?"

Anna took a step forward, breathed in deeply, and closed her eyes.

"Anna ?"

S he ran a finger against her temple, and muttered a couple of words in Enochian. The Sams stopped arguing for a second when they saw her doing. Anna then slowly opened her eyes, and Dean gasped. They were glowing with a slight blue, almost like Cas's. She laboriously looked up to the two voiceless Sams. She took advantage of that moment of awe, and pointed at the Sam on the right.

"He's the false one !"

Dean hesitated, and the shifter started to run, but Anna grabbed her knife by the blade, and threw it on the fleeing Sam's back. She hit her target right in the middle of the spine, and he fell on his knees, before falling dead on the ground in the dark back alley. She closed her eyes, breathed from the bottom of her lungs, and opened them again, her pupils were back to normal.

Silence fell in the alley. Sam and Dean were standing here, their mouths open, not really believing what had happened before their eyes. She was shaky from the effort for a second. She coughed to regain countenance, and it gave back his voice to the Winchester.

"How did you... he started."

"I mentioned that Pahaliah left me with a few gifts, right ? This is one of them. Seeing a being's soul, and being able to tell apart a human from a monster."

"So that's what you meant when you said you could _sense_ demons earlier." remembered Sam.

"Exactly."

"Well... thank you for not throwing a knife in my spine" said Sam.

"Lucky shot." she laughed.

Dean shook his head, as Sam was stepping up to them.

"Dean, you gotta admit it now, in front of her."

"You're good. he approved with a smile.

"Was I useful ?"

"You were, you were."

Sam caught a glimpse of Dean's wound in his chest.

"That is pretty bad, Dean."

"Yeah, nothing a needle and a bottle of scotch won't fix. We need to hide the shifter's body."

"I'll do that," volunteered Sam. "You go back at the motel and fix that."

"The... shifter probably has her keys on her," said Anna. "I can drive you back at the motel, and Sam takes your Impala ?"

"Deal." accepted Dean, smiling to hide the pain.

Sam searched the shifter, and threw the keys to Dean. Anna intercepted the keys and walked to the car.

"I can drive !" cried Dean.

"I'm not going in a car driven by a guy who's lost that much blood."

"Come on, I've known worse !"

"I'm sure you have. I drive, that's all, go sit, _shotgun_."

Dean sighed and went around the car, mumbling. Anna drove them back to the motel, and parked in a hidden spot behind the building. They entered the room, and Dean sat down on the first bed with a growl.

"Can you get the... uh... the green pouch in that bag over there, there are needles and stuff... And that bottle of scotch."

"Yes, sure."

Anna threw the car keys in the kitchen-space sink and took the pouch and the bottle back to Dean, then sat next to him on the bed. He opened the bottle and drank one, two, three mouthful, before putting it down. He took off his shirt, and tried to see the wound that was almost under his chin, when he heard an admiration sigh. He looked up to Anna, who was detailing his muscular chest and shoulders. He smiled and laughed a little.

"You want anything ?"

"Ah, God made a good job on you."

He laughed but winced in pain. Anna was still looking at his muscles, slightly nodding with her head.

"You've never seen a man before or what ?"

"Oh yes I have. Though I can't refuse myself to the view when I have the occasion... Anyway, give me the needles."

He put his hand back on the wound and turned away from her.

"I can patch myself up ! I've been doing that for years !"

"I'm sure you can. Now stay still _warrior_ while I wash my hands."

She got up and went to the bathroom. He heard the water run, and could look at her from behind. She had a graceful silhouette, and despite the plaid shirt and the cheap jeans, he could still see the figure of a classy woman in a limited edition pair of heels. She found an old scrunchie in the bathroom cabinet, and rapidly braided her hair. Shorter strands escaped the braid once she was done and took their place back around her face. When she turned around, she saw Dean detailing her, and she smirked.

" _You want anything_ ?"

"Oh come on, you started it."

She laughed, and sat down next to him. She opened the pouch.

"Good, sterilized stuff. Let's assume you paid for that."

"To be honest I don't even remember."

Anna took the bottle, and poured some of the alcohol on Dean's wound.

"Aouch !" he cried.

"Who's complaining now ? It's pretty deep... Do you have some gauze ?"

"Yeah, there's a compartment just under the needles."

Anna poured some much scotch on the gauze and applied it to the wound. Dean winced again, but bit his lip from the pain.

"You're such a baby, Dean."

"C'mon, I've been viciously attacked by a monster wearing my brother's meat suit."

"I really hope you're up to date with your tetanus shot."

"Uh..."

"Ok, we'll pray then !"

And they both laughed heartily, while Anna was opening the first sterilized needle package. She let Dean take a last sip of scotch before beginning.

"I hope you know what you're doing." he teased her.

"I can sew. Plus, I've done this on myself several times, and on others. When they come through New York, some hunters I know don't hesitate to pass by, and sometimes I gotta patch them up just like you. You're not gonna have a scar, if everything goes right."

"What do you mean, _if everything goes right_ ?"

She looked up at him with a smile in her eyes, and he was looking down on her with the same expression.

"Unless you keep distracting me, you might end up in a real mess, like, monster of Frankenstein type, scars, stitches everywhere. "

"Everywhere uh ? You're gonna feed me to another shifter to reach your ends ?"

"I might, beware, beware..."

He leaned his head a bit forward, to see her hands sewing. She looked up discretely and their eyes met. She looked down on her work again, and that made him smile.

"It looks like you're doing a great job. Your fingers are really precise."

"Конечно, я хорошая."

He looked at her with a beam on her face.

"Don't you ever get tired of all those languages ?"

"Foreign tongues are my favourites", she added with a lop-sided smile while finishing the stitches with a knot and putting the needle away.

"Oh yeah ? In how many _tongues_ can you say that ?

" _Dans toutes les langues_..."

She gently run her fingers through Dean's hair and leaning towards him, she sealed their lips with a kiss. He waited a second, wrapped his arms around her gently, and pulled her to him while deepening their kiss.

The sound of the engine of the Impala was heard parking in front of the room outside. Anna smoothly pushed him away with an amused smile on her face. He smiled back at her.

"You're given a kiss, you take it!" she laughed.

"It would be rude to decline." he answered.

She laughed, and sat back, as Sam entered the room, and saw the two with slightly red cheeks and beaming. The little brother was wondering, and asked :

"What were you two doing ?"

"Practising for our next set-up. You can't be my fake boyfriend every time Sam," laughed Anna as she got up. "Beer ? They should be cool enough by now."

 

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**Thanks for reading ! Please consider reviewing, it would help me a lot to know what you're thinking about all this :) !**

**See you next chapter ;) !**

****[I AM CURRENTLY REPUBLISHING ON AO3 WHAT IS PUBLISHED ON FF.NET, IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE CHAPTERS, GO CHECK THERE UNTIL I HAVE UPDATED HERE :) !]** **

 


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